A Dream Once Shared
by Fumiko Matsubara
Summary: A place of various emotions, where you could wash all your worries away and just be yourself, even just for a while. I mean, we're just a rock band of middle schoolers, but wouldn't it be nice if we could make a place like that?


**Disclaimer: Anything you recognized belongs to their respective owners.**

**This is basically a oneshot I wrote about Chiba's time in the Light Music Club (TARGET ON-verse by the way).**

* * *

**A Dream Once Shared**

"You two sure are quick!" The president of the light music club laughed as he acknowledged the two younger figures who approached him this afternoon. "While it's good to be passionate, the bell just rang. Take it easy next time!"

The two said juniors didn't reply, standing still while avoiding eye contact, although the redness of their cheeks cannot be hidden.

The club president chuckled at their lack of response and read over their application forms. "Fukiyose Eiji-kun. From 1-A and you wanted to play the bass," he looked at the rather tall boy with honey blonde hair and matching eyes.

"Yes," Eiji replied in a calm manner.

Nodding, the club president turned towards the girl next to Eiji who had long bobbed dark magenta hair and mint green eyes. "And you're Shimada Miho-san from 1-C. You said you'd like to play the drums, correct?"

Miho nodded immediately in response. "**Yes!**"

At her answer, the club president blinked in rereturn almost blankly, slightly tilting his head in confusion. _**Yes**? A former athlete, I assume? _*****

Brushing off the thought, he cleared his throat and quickly regained his composure. "Now here's the thing, you two. So far, you two are our only newly recruits and both of your instruments of choice are unfortunately taken by the older members," he gestured towards the other members who were already practicing with their respective instruments.

The two first years didn't reply, prompting him to continue.

"Although our current band is already full, a vocalist or another guitarist could still join in. But with you two..." he trailed off.

"The closest thing we could do is to become substitutes in some performances," Miho continued for him, arms crossed while nodding in understanding.

"And I'm sure that you wouldn't like that. So, the plan was to have the new recruits form a band of their own. Unless you two knew some people who would like to join us, you would have to wait until after the welcoming performance since that's usually when we get more recruits," the club president explained rather apologetically.

Miho lowered her head, contemplating his answer. "We need a vocalist and a guitarist to form a proper band. If we're lucky enough, a guitarist that can sing."

"Hm…" Eiji hummed in deep thought.

Miho turned to him in interest. "You have someone in mind, Eiji?"

"I know a vocalist who might consider joining us," he answered truthfully. "You know that pretty girl who visits the flower shop a lot?"

"Were you talking about Kitazawa-senpai?" Miho asked in disbelief. "Wasn't she in the choir club?"

Eiji shook his head in response. "Not anymore. Apparently, she quitted last semester. She told me this at the last visit."

Miho blinked at him in mild surprise firstly, then she quirked her eyebrows. "How are you sure that she's gonna accept the offer?"

"I said 'who might consider'," Eiji replied flatly. "And besides, as if she's gonna give up doing what she loves. There's gotta be a reason why she quitted her old club, I know. Ayaka-senpai loves singing so much to even think of abandoning it."

Miho, although a little bit doubtful, still somewhat found herself agreeing with him. "If Kitazawa-senpai agreed to join us, all we need is a guitarist."

With a bright grin plastered on her face, Miho turned towards the club president and gratefully bowed to him, with Eiji following in suit.

"We'll be counting on you on that one, senpai!" They both chorused.

The club president sweat dropped in response. "Hey now…"

* * *

"The light music club, you say?"

Eiji nodded in response. "I thought you might consider being the vocalist for the new band, especially since you mentioned about wanting to sing solo."

Ayaka Kitazawa stared outside the opened windows, taking in the full view of the school's garden. The warmth glow of the sun setting were softly reflected by her garnet eyes and her thick brown stresses fell messily around her back in a way that complimented her nearly doll-like features, which was clearly defined against her fair skin that seemed to have found new softness in the light.

She was beautiful.

"That's right. I did say that…" She chuckled lightly before taking another breath. "Right..." Her slightly parted lips were then pursed, as if she was thinking about something.

While calmly waiting for her to continue, Eiji followed her gaze and nearly faltered at the sight of the familiar group of students who were walking home together.

"My voice was too distinct to even blend in with the choir, sensei told me last year."

Eiji's eyes returned to Ayaka but the older girl remained in her position, expression still and never faltering.

Eyes still on the view below her, Ayaka continued. "So I decided to leave the club before they started to exclude me from rehearsals even further. In my 9 months of being a member there, I only got to perform with the choir once."

She shifted and turned towards Eiji, a strained smile now on her face. "And that was before they started paying attention to our voices individually."

Eiji's fists, which were pocketed in his pants, tightened in response.

"My voice is different, I know. I already accepted that I wouldn't fit in with the others no matter how hard I try. I'd still stand out," she continued rather monotonously. "So I'm hoping to have the opportunity to discover myself even further, if that's the case then."

"Huh?" Eiji's eyes suddenly widened at her words. "So, you're saying that..?"

Ayaka smiled at him in response.

"Yep. I'd like to join your band, Eiji-san."

* * *

"I'm surprised that your dad gave you the funds to actually buy an instrument. Especially since this set in particular is rather pricey," Eiji commented as he marveled at the real life view of the green Yamaha drum kit that Miho had just purchased.

Sitting on the throne, Miho grinned proudly in response. "He's considerate enough to let me live my life to the fullest until I inherit the dojo. I still have ten years left, so no worries!"

"A dojo heiress who plays drums… never seen that before," Ayaka mused. "How long have you been playing, Shimada-san?"

Miho started twirling one of the drumsticks with her fingers. "Hmm… about 2 years now, I think!"

"It's a year and a half, actually," Eiji bluntly corrected. "We both started playing in the middle of our 5th grade, Miho."

"Oh! So it hasn't been that long, huh? My bad!" Miho scratched her head sheepishly.

Eiji just shook his head exasperatedly in return, but a small smile is on his face as he does so.

"Eiji, you better help me bring this to the club room, alright?" Miho told him, eyebrows raised in anticipation.

Frowning, Eiji stared at her blankly. "No way. You're physically stronger than I am. You can do that yourself, Miho."

"Eeh..!" Miho whined rather loudly in reply. "Come on, dude. I need some manpower! What're those nonexistent muscles are for? Help a friend, will you?"

"Wait, what are you calling nonexistent?!"

"You guys…" Ayaka sighed, exasperated, taking notice of the other people who were beginning to stare at them.

Then one of the clerks of the music store, who was originally tending the next aisle, approached the three. "Is there something you kids need?"

Eiji and Miho abruptly stopped their quarreling and quickly looked at the clerk, their mouths shut. Then they exchanged looks before silently urging the other to speak up.

Sighing at their antics again, Ayaka turned to the clerk and answered him in their steads. "We were wondering if this store offers transportation services for such instruments like the drum set," she pointed towards the occupied drum kit with her thumb.

"We do, actually," the clerk answered with a smile. "Where do you plan to bring it to?"

Miho, who just had snapped out of her reverie, replied instead. "To our club room, sir!"

"Are we going to pay extra for the delivery?" Eiji questioned.

The clerk shook his head in response. "Majority of our customers are students, anyways. So, the owner was considerate enough to have the delivery be free of charge instead."

"Wow, that's nice!" Miho cheered from the throne, her face brightening.

Ayaka smiled, nodding in agreement. "We just need to settle the location for the delivery and we're good to go!"

Suddenly, the pleasant sound of a guitar riff resonated the music store smoothly, gradually tuning out the soft background music that was being played earlier.

Almost everyone in the store halted from their businesses to briefly acknowledge the newly introduced sound, some stayed longer to appreciate it even further.

"Wow, they're really good," Eiji gasped, almost in a trance.

Miho hummed in agreement, sighing leisurely. "Yeah. They're clean and are never missing a beat…"

The clerk smiled knowingly, his gaze on a particular corner of the store. "It appears that he has started…"

"You know him?" Ayaka asked with mild interest.

"He's one of our regulars. He visits almost every day," he replied calmly. "But it seems that he had finally saved enough money to buy his own guitar. He's probably testing it out for now."

Eiji and Miho's heads turned towards the same corner, where the sound of the guitar is coming from.

"I thought the practice room has a soundproof system," Eiji realized, blinking in surprise.

The clerk just chuckled in response. "He usually forgets to properly close the door. But since the other customers don't mind it, we just let him be."

"Well, thank god you did," Miho grinned, her head swaying to the rhythm that the riff was beginning to fall into.

The clerk then turned towards Ayaka. "Perhaps we should start settling with the delivery, miss?"

"Oh, of course!" Ayaka quickly turned to the first years. "I'll be back in a sec, you two."

Then she followed the clerk.

"Hey." Miho called out, grinning. After hearing a hum from the blonde, her grin widened even further. "Wanna check who's behind that?"

Eiji snorted at that. "You can't be serious, Miho."

"We're not gonna bother him, though," Miho waved him off breezily. "I just wanna see who that talent is!" She stood up from the throne and made her way towards the practice room.

"Hey, wait up," sighing, Eiji quickly followed her.

Once they reached the slightly opened door of the practice room, Miho took advantage of her height and crouched down to take a peek inside.

Also taking advantage of his height, Eiji discreetly peeked through the transparent glass to see the guy behind the guitar.

He seemed to be around their ages, but Eiji unfortunately couldn't recall seeing him from anywhere. But no doubt that from this point onwards, the guy's appearance will surely leave an impact into his memory; especially with the way his black hair was long enough to cover half of his face, making it really hard to see his eyes.

Eiji wondered if the guy could even see what he was doing with his hair like that.

"Oh, it's that guy!" Miho quietly gasped.

Eiji turned to her in surprise and asked in a hushed whisper. "You know him too?"

"He's in my class, actually," Miho answered, eyes not leaving the sight before her.

Eiji's eyes darted back to the figure inside the room and quietly gulped in anticipation.

Although they were both occupied with appreciating the skilled guitarist, a similar thought had crossed their minds.

_We found him._

* * *

Unfortunately, he didn't show up.

"Um, you guys," the club president called out to the three. "No one's really gonna show up if you stare too hard."

Despite occupying their respective instruments, Miho, Eiji, and even Ayaka all stayed frozen in their spots, eye never leaving the door until someone came in.

"But, after such a well-received concert… How can it be that not a single person's coming?" Ayaka sighed vehemently, her head hung low.

Miho grumbled in her seat. "Especially that guy…"

"Well, we can't always assume that every guitarist would want to do light music," Eiji turned to her with a forlorn expression on his face. "For all we know, he might've joined the jazz club instead."

Frowning, Miho rested her head onto her palms. "Debatable," she countered frankly. "What he played at the music shop is too punk for me to even think that he'd be the jazz type of dude."

Ayaka, who then had a thoughtful look on her face, turned to the club president. "Say, Prez…"

"Yes?" He quickly turned to her.

"It's possible for a band to just have 3 members, correct?" She asked.

Taken aback by the question, he scratched his head rather awkwardly. "Actually, it's possible," he answered. "However, although you can somehow make it work with your respective instruments of choice, a guitarist would've been ideal to complete your sound."

Ayaka contemplated his answer, her lips pursed. "If we didn't get to recruit a guitarist this term," she started, turning towards the two first years, "I guess I'll pick up the electric guitar then."

At that announcement, the two first years tore their eyes off of each other and turned towards her instead, jaws dropped.

"You will?" The club president questioned, mildly intrigued.

Ayaka nodded at him reply. "I do have some experience with playing one before," she revealed, "so I think I might be able to pull it off much quicker."

"Oh, no you don't!" Eiji frowned sternly at her. "We're not gonna burden you even further with another leading role!"

Miho crossed her arms with a disapproving look on her face, agreeing with Eiji. "Being on main vocals is already a huge responsibility, senpai. Don't risk it."

"Then how are we going to make this work properly if we don't have a guitarist?" Ayaka shot back, her voice slightly rising.

"Things will work out, no worries!" Miho waved her off, although a bit more desperately. "We're kidnapping the guy from my class if it comes down to it!"

Eiji, not so gently, nudged her at her words. "We're not kidnapping anyone."

Then their chatter abruptly stopped when they heard the door clicked open. It was as if there as some kind of force pulling them, their heads quickly snapped to where the door was.

"Excuse me," someone peeked through the slightly opened door. "Is this the light music club room?"

The club presidents blinked owlishly for a few seconds before quickly answering. "Yes, it is! How may we help you?"

At his answer the door opened wider and the figure stepped inside, revealing a young guy whose eyes were covered by his black hair. A school bag and a solid black guitar case both hung on his right shoulder and on his hand was a small white envelope.

"I'm Chiba Ryuunosuke from 1-C," the guy introduced himself, lightly bowing. "I play the guitar and I'd like to join your club."

What met his introduction was pure silence, with most of the members just staring blankly at him.

Ryuunosuke, who was not yet used to the attention, shifted his gaze towards somewhere else.

At the throne, Miho slowly tilted her head in mild confusion. "I'm sorry but could you please repeat that last bit?"

"I play the guitar and I'd like to join your club," Ryuunosuke repeated, his expression still.

At that confirmation, Ayaka's face brightened up, a huge yet relieved smile forming on her face. "That's nice!"

Overjoyed, she turned towards her juniors, only to realize that the said two were missing from their spots.

"CAPTURE HIM!"

The enthusiastic chorus from the first year duo was enough to Ayaka into a whole new fit of pure panic. She quickly turned towards the door, just in time for her to witness the embarrassing sight of Eiji and Miho _simultaneously jumping_ onto the new recruit with opened arms.

"DON'T JUMP AT HIM, YOU IDIOTS!"

* * *

The Light Music Club's newly formed band had finally got their long-awaited new member and guitarist.

As per the club president's request to the student council, the mentioned new members have been given a separate vacant room to practice in, saving the trouble from having to divide practice hours between the two bands.

After tidying up the once empty room, they all settled their instruments and some unused equipment given by the older club members like mics, amplifiers,and stands inside, all four new members sat around the long table near the chalkboard, in hopes of getting to know each other further.

Especially their new comer.

"I'm really sorry about these idiots for jumping on you," Ayaka apologized once again, taking another opportunity to glare at her other juniors, who both flinched at her gaze.

Ryuunosuke just simply waved her off with a calm smile. "It's alright, senpai. I was just caught by surprise," he slightly leaned back into his seat, "I had no idea that the club was in great need of a guitarist, though."

"Ah, not really. It wasn't just because of that," Eiji corrected, turning to him while purposely avoiding Ayaka's gaze. "Actually, we heard you play at the music store the day before yesterday," then he placed his hand on his nape awkwardly, "Which is why we got too excited when you joined, since we have an idea at how good you are..."

Ryuunosuke's eyes widened at that, not that they could tell though. Then he suddenly let out a sheepish laugh, probably in realization. "Ah, I didn't properly close the door again, didn't I?" he asked, which earned him a simultaneous nod from the three.

He frowned, letting out a small sigh. "I had cleaning duty earlier which is why I was rather late," then he turned his gaze towards Miho this time. "If you already saw me play, then why didn't you approached me during breaks, Shimada-san? You guys would've been more assured that I'm joining either way," he questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Ah! That's because... hehe," Miho laughed nervously, scratching her head sheepishly. "I haven't thought of that... My bad!"

Ayaka just shook her head at the younger girl's silliness, turning back to Ryuunosuke with a gentle smile. "Say, Chiba-kun. Would you mind playing something for us?"

Rather taken aback by the sudden request, Ryuunosuke asked in mild disbelief, "Should I really?"

"Yeah, you were really good the first time we heard you play," Eiji nodded and at the same time praised.

Miho grinned from her seat, agreeing with Eiji. "Just think of it as an evaluation for new recruits! The three of us had to demonstrate when we first joined too!"

At that, Eiji glanced at her, eyebrows raised. _We didn't, though?_

Miho returned his gaze, albeit more forcefully. _We do now. So shut up._

"If you two started fighting nonsense again, I swear you better say goodbye to your heads," Ayaka threatened, glaring at them menacingly.

In an instant, the two first years teared their eyes off of each other, sinking down in their seats quietly.

Suddenly, Ryuunosuke laughed from his seat, earning all of their attentions. "Sure, I'd play for you. I mean, why not?"

He stood up and walked towards one of the stands, where his guitar case was settled.

Eiji decided to help him by preparing one of the amplifiers and taking out an electric cord. "Say, Chiba-kun. Are you going to need anything else?" He called out, kneeling in front of the other untouched equipment.

"Just the midi foot controller," he replied, taking out a black electric guitar, a rather new one at that.

"Ah, so you're a stratocaster kind of dude," Miho commented, then noticing that the guitar was almost entirely coloured in black, save for the fret markers, the bridge, input jack, strings, and its head. "What's the full name of its colour?"

Slinging the guitar over his shoulder, Ryuunosuke turned to her. "It's Rosewood Black 1979," he answered truthfully.

"Wait, isn't that expensive?!" Eyes widen, Eiji nearly yelled at him.

"It was actually on sale that time," Ryuunosuke replied sheepishly, quietly muttering a small thanks when Eiji handed him the cord. "So, I got it for a much lower price. It's still expensive, though."

Ayaka raised an eyebrow. "Around a hundred thousand, maybe?"

"Actually, it's a hundred fifty," Ryuunosuke elaborated awkwardly. "The original price was above three hundred thousand, I think."

"Wow," Miho gaped, sitting on the couch that was just behind the long table, getting a full view of the practice area. "My drum set was customized and yet I didn't even spent a hundred thousand on that one! How long have you been saving for that?"

"A year, I think?" Ryuunosuke approached the amplifier, switching it on. "I was originally planning to just get a Sunburst instead. I just got really lucky on this one," he slightly lifted the guitar, a small yet proud smile on his face.

"Well then," Ayaka clapped her hands in anticipation, then gestured towards him. "Show us what you got."

With a determined expression, Ryuunosuke proceeded to charm them once again.

* * *

They decided to just settle with doing covers instead of writing an entire song from scratch, finding the latter to be too much of a stretch to pull off.

No matter the genre, they could just do their own alternative rock rendition of the song. But of course, they occasionally do acoustic renditions, knowing that Ayaka's unique yet strong vocals will certainly do it justice.

Speaking of Ayaka, the other girl's powerful voice is clearly the type to do well with punk rock music, but still versatile enough to pull off other genres. The only downside of her vocal prowess, was that her words tend to slur when trying to pull off a certain note, thus sometimes mispronouncing some words rather awkwardly. But since it normally happens during their more upbeat covers, that tiny problem could easily be covered by her outstanding performance skills and her ability to draw in a crowd.

As for Miho, although her drumming tend to rush sometimes and get off beat, her powerful execution could help her make up for it and would even allow her to take the lead. Her performance skill was very bouncy and it's more than enough to power up Ayaka's energetic stage presence.

In contrast to the girl's powerful energies, Eiji's calm yet strong demeanor can amplify yet at the same time tone them down. His rather moody bass lines gives a strong foundation of the band's rhythm, but could also put them in an unexplainable satisfying trance with how full their sound was.

Ryuunosuke, on the other hand, despite how rather awkward he was at first, was one undeniably talented beast the moment he starts playing. The way he pulls off difficult riffs with ease while fueling the powerful energy with his rhythmic body gestures, sometimes even jumping around, was definitely keeping the band's aura together. Even though Ayaka was the main performer of their band, Ryuunosuke's strong stage presence coupled with his unparalleled expressions, was enough to almost steal the show.

Which brings them to a certain matter.

"Say, Ryuunosuke-kun..." Miho started one afternoon when the band was just preparing to practice.

A few months ago, they decided to drop the formalities and had recently started to refer to each other with their given names. Which is why Ryuunosuke, who was normally not used to being referred by his given name by anyone other than his family, wasn't that bothered when the drummer called out to him.

Crouching down to switch on the amplifier, Ryuunosuke faced her once he was done. "Yeah?"

Miho fidgeted in the throne, twirling one of her drumsticks rather absentmindedly. "Actually, haven't you uh..." She trailed off.

The question had been brewing in her mind for a while, even more so now lately. But she felt like it was a rather personal matter to the guitarist so she decided to just brush it off. However, since the cultural festival was beginning to near, her curiosity was slowly beginning to eat her away.

Ryuunosuke stared at her for a few moments before a look of realization appeared on his face. "Oh..." With a small yet knowing smile, he raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's my bangs, isn't it?" He asked, which earned him a nod from the drummer. "Why though? Do they bother you?"

Miho averted her gaze, her lips pursed thoughtfully. "No, it's not that they _bother_ me or anything. But rather..." She eyed Eiji rather desperately, who raised an eyebrow at her in confusion.

The bassist widened when got the memo, turned to Ryuunosuke and answered in Miho's stead. "Now that I think about it. We've known each other for quite a while now, but we've never seen your face fully before. Not even once."

At his words, Ayaka's eyes widened also, then turned to Ryuunosuke with her wireless mic pointed at him. "You're right..." she quirked an eyebrow to their guitarist. "What gives though?"

Ryuunosuke sweated nervously with all their gazes directed at him, clearly expecting an answer. "It's not really a big deal, so I don't think..."

"We're listening," Eiji told him reassuringly.

Sighing, he scratched his head rather tiredly. "I just used to be insecure about my eyes so I grew my bangs out," the three listening widened their eyes in surprise at the revelation. "I already had gotten over that, but I'm grown so used to my bangs so I kept it as it is."

At that last bit, Miho frowned, eyebrows raised almost in doubt. "But you're making a huge effort not to let Sugaya-kun see them, though," she pointed out.

"It's fun teasing him," Ryuunosuke grinned in response. "It's a good challenge for him to try to guess what my eyes look like. Though it's a bit annoying, it's also amusing."

Eiji rolled his eyes fondly at his answer. "And here I thought it was very personal."

"If it was, I wouldn't be telling you," Ryuunosuke replied, a smile still on his face.

Ayaka just sighed at the incredulity of the matter before an idea just came into her.

"Say, Ryuunosuke..."

He turned to her, rather confused.

This time, it was Ayaka who grinned.

"I have an idea."

* * *

"Geez... this is so nerve-wrecking..."

"Wow! To think there'd be this many people watching..."

Both Ayaka and Miho muttered to themselves while peeking through the closed red curtains.

Eiji, who was doing last minute checks on their equipment in case anything else was forgotten, sighed from his spot. "We have three songs to perform, just a reminder. Might as well keep the energy going while we're at it."

"And keeping it we will then!" Ayaka cheered, slightly trembling in excitement. "Wah I'm so pumped for this!" She grinned brightly.

Miho, who was more or less tense than the older girl, just sighed out her nervousness. "Ayaka-senpai, you're the one who's gonna be singing the entire performance. So you better control your breathing if you want to last until the end," she warned.

"I know that, of course," still grinning excitedly, Ayaka waved her off. "But I'm so excited for this! We're gonna do well, I'm sure of it!"

She firmly held Miho's smaller hands together with her own. "Miho has improved so much and so does Eiji! Your teamwork is so tight there's nothing to worry about!"

Then she whisked her head away. "Then Ryuunosuke has always been-! Huh?" Ayaka blinked owlishly when there was no sign of the guitarist with them.

Confused, she turned to Eiji. "Eiji, where's Ryuunosuke?"

"At the dark," he deadpanned, pointing towards the dark backstage with his thumb. "He doesn't want to show himself."

"There's no way I'd show myself there looking like this!" A familiar voice yelled at them from the direction the bassist pointed.

Then Ayaka's grin softened at his response, laughing almost sheepishly. "Oh, come on! You're really handsome, you know that?"

"Uh... Well thanks but," Then Ryuunosuke slowly emerged from the darkness.

His thick dark hair was out of his face, thus revealing his sharp yet vibrant maroon eyes, which nervously darted everywhere but them. His thick yet slightly arched eyebrows were furrowed and his face was beet red out of embarrassment.

"Of all things, why this hairstyle?!" He angrily pointed to his hair, which his bangs were parted sideways and the rest of his hair ruffled upwards.

Ayaka bit down an amused laugh, raising her eyebrows instead as a response. "Why? It looks good on you."

"Well I don't want anyone to see me like this!" Ryuunosuke then gestured to his entire get up exasperatedly. His shirt was untucked, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and his collar and tie were loose. His blazer was tied around his waist and instead of the school's issued loafers, he wore a pair of white sneakers with red accents.

Then he began scratching his head, not so gently though. "I just hope my family won't be watching," he muttered lowly. "Especially my older sister..."

"Relax, dude," Miho laughed. "No one's gonna recognize you in that!" She reassured, her hand doing waving gestures to emphasize her point.

Unlike Ryuunosuke's drastic dress down, all Miho did to her uniform was to leave her shirt untucked and her blazer unbuttoned. Like him though, she also wore a pair of white shoes instead of the loafers.

Ryuunosuke just frowned in response, almost pouting. He then glanced at Ayaka. "Anything you'd like to add, senpai?"

"Nothing," Ayaka replied lightly, playing with the wireless microphone with a challenging smirk.

She more or less had the same level of dressing down as Ryuunosuke, with her blazer absent, her shirt was opened and draped around her shoulders, revealing a sleeveless black turtleneck shirt tucked under her skirt. Rather than a pair of white shoes, she instead decided to wear knee length timberland boots.

Eiji just sighed from watching the exchange, knowing well that they're about to start anytime soon. The entire top of his uniform was replaced by a 3/4 sleeved black shirt and he also wore a pair of white shoes, leaving only his pants the same.

"Well, I don't like this! Not at all! _Not one __bit!_" Still agitated, Ryuunosuke continuously grumbled while stomping towards to where his guitar was.

Ayaka only sweatdropped at her junior's actions. _To think that it would only take this to get him complaining..._

**_"Next up, we have the 2nd band of our school's Light Music Club..."_**

At that announcement, the rest of the members went to their positions almost automatically.

While waiting for the curtain to rise up, Ayaka took the opportunity to turn to her left, winking at Ryuunosuke while giving him a thumbs up.

Even though the guitarist was more or less glaring at her, the small smile on his face was enough to give out his true thoughts.

They were all tense when the curtain began rising, taking deep breaths at every second. But the moment they heard the continuous applause by the audience, their earlier nervousness were washed away and thus replaced by excitement.

When the large crowd had came to their view, still grinning, Ayaka signaled Miho to start counting.

A similar grin on her face, Miho raised her drumsticks.

"One! Two! Three!"

* * *

"Ryuunosuke, can't you relax a bit? No one recognized you," Ayaka sighed out, exasperatedly watching the guitarist flinch every time someone walked past their practice room.

Miho raised her head from reading the school's newspaper, a passive expression on her face. "If you think that's bad, you haven't seen him with Sugaya-kun."

"He added a 'five feet apart' rule, I think," Eiji stated, eyes still on the paper that Miho was holding.

Ryuunosuke stubbornly crossed his arms in response. "School's a dangerous territory. Change my mind, I dare you."

"Yeah, no arguments here." Ayaka deadpanned, drumming onto the table with her fingers.

Miho stared at them for a few seconds before returning her gaze to the school newspaper. "Anyhow," she spread the newspaper onto the table, letting the older members see the articles written below. "Looks like the school has its eyes on the two of you," she stated, pointing towards an article from the light music club section.

"Vocal Goddess-sama and Lead Guitarist-kun..." Eiji read out, his eyebrows furrowing. "To think that you two even got your separate photos on the page..."

Ayaka shifted to get a closer look into the article. "Vocal Goddess-sama?" She asked incredulously, eyebrows raised.

"It's because you forgot to introduce us individually, MC-san," Ryuunosuke answered, no signs of amusement visible onto his features while reading the article that was dedicated to him.

After a while, they put the newspaper away, slumping into their seats tiredly.

"So, any plans on what we should do next?" Miho asked, still slumped on her seat. "Cause we're also gonna perform at the freshman's welcoming concert next year, you know?"

Eiji rested his chin onto the back of his palm, a thoughtful look on his face. "Maybe it's time for us to start writing our own songs?"

"Yeah sure," Miho rolled her eyes. "Where are we going to even start?"

"I don't know," Eiji shot back sarcastically, "maybe write lyrics then add a melody after?"

The two began staring at each other intensely.

"Actually, you two..."

Ayaka called out, meekly raising her hand, which caused the two of them to avert their gazes towards her instead.

Ayaka and Ryuunosuke exchanged looks for a bit before the latter stood up and walked towards the couch, where their school bags were placed.

"Ryuunosuke and I actually have been working on a few songs during our off days," the vocalist revealed, a gentle smile on her face.

The first year duo's eye widened in shock at the revelation, jaws dropped.

"Why didn't you tell us before?!" Miho exclaimed in disbelief.

Ryuunosuke returned to their table, a laptop now present in hid arms. "We started writing a month before the festival. It would bring unnecessary panic if we told you guys around that time, so we decided to keep it a secret until we're done with the performance."

"And you seemed ready about writing originals, so we figured now is the right time," Ayaka smiled at them, her stance never faltering.

Eiji had a thoughtful look for a short while before he shook his head somewhat exasperatedly. "So, what do you got there?"

"I actually had a lot of melody lines that I've been thinking of writing for a while," Ayaka admitted then bobbing her head towards Ryuunosuke who was busying himself typing something on his laptop. "I presented them to Ryuunosuke and so he produced the entire beat and arranged the instrumentals too."

Eyes still on the screen before him, Ryuunosuke nodded in confirmation at Ayaka's words. "So far, we've produced five songs already. The samples are pretty much done actually," then his eyes darted towards the two. "All we need is to write the lyrics and come up with the song title."

"Eiji and I could do that!" Miho volunteered excitedly. "Japanese has always been our strongest subject and our English isn't too shabby as well!"

Grinning, she then jabbed her thumb towards the blonde. "Not to mention this guy is pretty good at coming up with themes from his flower analogies!"

Eiji rolled his eyes fondly, despite Miho's thumb squishing his cheeks. He looked at the guitarist and asked him.

"Mind if we have a listen on what you've been working on?"

* * *

"Wait, aren't you the son of the music shop's owner?!" Ryuunosuke asked in disbelief while staring at the first year teal haired boy.

A bright grin on his face, the first year nodded excited, his steps almost bouncing. "Yes! I watched your performance at the welcoming concert and I was blown away at how well you play the guitar, senpai!"

"That's amazing and all. But would you mind introducing yourself first?" Ayaka asked exasperatedly, although a fond smile was on her face.

At her words, the teal haired first year straightened his posture, rather sheepish. "I'm Terushima Daisuke from 1-B! I play the keyboard and also the guitar! I will be in your care!" He bowed very passionately to them, a grin still on his face when he stood still again.

The three second years exchanged looks to each other, all sporting amused smiles.

"So, what do you guys think?" Eiji asked in anticipation.

Miho grinned in response. "I like him! Let him in! What do you say, leader?"

Ryuunosuke visibly cringed at the name, clearly not liking the new position given to him by his band mates. "Sure, why not?" He answered, his composure still. "I was slowly beginning to think of having Ayaka-senpai to play an instrument, but thank god for the new member."

Ayaka rolled her eyes at the remark before eyeing Miho once again. "Also, what did I tell you about greeting new comers, _Miho?_"

"Never jump at them..." Miho replied quickly, her voice shrinking out of nervousness from the look Ayaka was giving her.

Daisuke, still excited, reached for his pocket then gave Ryuunosuke a white envelope. "Here's my club application form!"

"Approved and accepted!" Ryuunosuke then gestured towards the door. "Let's head over the practice room so you could show us what you got!"

At that, Daisuke grabbed his keyboard case and excitedly followed Ryuunosuke out of the club room, both leaving the other members without their knowledge.

* * *

Daisuke was one talented keyboardist (or pianist of their suspicions were correct) and guitarist, as they all have realized for the past few months. He easily picked up the pace and even composed his own instrumentals on all of their finished songs. He even got Ryuunosuke's approval to help him produce their newest songs, thus lessening the burden from their leader's back.

And speaking of Ryuunosuke, the guitarist had certainly grew fond over their youngest member. Especially with the way his usual serious look softens whenever he talks to him; a very gentle smile on his face as well.

The same goes for Ayaka too, although there was some distance because the third year was rather busy. But she tried to make time for the club while also juggling between her exams and school works.

"Ryuunosuke, you actually got that one wrong," she pointed out, glancing onto her junior's notes as the latter was studying for his final exams.

Ayaka couldn't help but be very worried for Ryuunosuke, especially the fact that he was assigned with so many important positions in their band. It made her wonder if he even had time for his studies and for himself.

Not to mention that, once the third years have graduated, he will become the club president.

Although Ryuunosuke's bangs were currently obscuring half of his face, Ayaka couldn't ignore at how pale he recently had gotten.

"Ah right..." Ryuunosuke then hurriedly erased what she had pointed.

Ayaka then found herself frowning when she saw what he wrote instead. Sighing, she gently tapped his shoulder in hopes of getting his attention.

"You don't even know what you're doing, do you?" When he finally gave her a nod, Ayaka sighed again and shifted closer to him. "I'm pretty much good with my own studying, so I'll help you out on this one. Biology happens to be one of my strong points."

Ryuunosuke shook his head at her offer. "It's okay, senpai. You don't have to."

"I insist," she urged further, her face straight.

Not seeing the point to argue with the older girl, Ryuunosuke just sighed and let her move closer.

"Ugh... I'm losing my brain cells...!" Miho loudly groaned, the back of her pen just ghosting above her notes.

Eiji, who was doing good on his own, gave her an irritated look. "As if you have any."

Miho's head sharply turned to him. "Someone who lacks common sense doesn't have the right to tell me that!"

"Wow and you do?!" Eiji shot back.

Sighing deeply, Ayaka tiredly called out to them. "You two..."

Ryuunosuke just motionlessly watched them.

On the other hand, Daisuke watched the arguing pair in amusement, a playful grin on his face. "That's how my parents were like back then..."

At that remark, the mentioned two sharply turned to him, irritated expressions on their faces.

"FUCK NO WAY I'D MARRY THAT (BASTARD/AIRHEAD)!"

"DON'T YELL AT HIM!" Both Ayaka and Ryuunosuke chorused loudly at the two, a tired yet murderous expression on their faces.

* * *

Eiji, Miho, and Daisuke all sat together around the table, motionless.

Ayaka had graduated from their school, thus she was no longer with then.

While Ryuunosuke...

"To think that the teachers would actually drop him to E Class..." Eiji trailed off, breaking the ice.

Miho then frowned. "Which doesn't make sense at all?" She crossed her arms irritably, a bitter expression on her face. "He doesn't even have the lowest grades in our class and it was only one subject. _ONE SUBJECT_. That could easily be covered with the fact that he contributed so much, **_so much_** to our club! And he's supposed to be our club president next school year! Just what were they thinking?!"

"I think it's because no one, outside from our club, knew that it was him behind the guitar," Daisuke replied quietly, his usual cheerfulness absent. "You also mentioned that he's usually quiet in class, maybe that's why..."

Once again, they all sat there in silence, not having the heart to continue the conversation.

Then their phones rang.

Simultaneously, they all pulled out their phones, only to realize it was a message from Ryuunosuke on their group chat.

**Ryuunosuke: **Just so you know, the band is still together. Just because Ayaka-senpai and I can't come to the club room anymore doesn't mean we're disbanding.

**Ryuunosuke: **We could still secretly meet up and just practice in one of Daisuke's studios for our next live lounges.

**Ryuunosuke:** Besides, the school's auditorium is too stuffy. The live houses are much more ideal for that liberating atmosphere we all like to make.

**Ryuunosuke:** Let's all work even harder from now own. And hopefully we'll be able to keep our spirits up :D

* * *

"Ryuu! Are you going somewhere?" Miki, a tall girl with blonde hair in a ponytail and red eyes, called out to him when the sniper began walking to the opposite direction.

Subtly giving her a knowing look, Ryuunosuke nodded. "Yeah. I have to run an errand."

"Alright, see you tomorrow!" Miki bid him a farewell, which was gladly returned.

Taiga watched him walk further away before sighing. "I swear that guy always had to be somewhere..." he grumbled.

"Can't blame him though. Life's hard," Sousuke added, seemingly used to it.

After a while, Ryuunosuke arrived in front of a familiar building, getting inside without hesitation.

The faint sound of Miho's passionate drumming brought a smile to his face as he approached a certain room. One of the staffs kindly greeted him, which he returned in the same manner.

Almost shamelessly, he opened the glass door, only for his ears to meet a much louder version of Miho's drumming.

In an instant, the drumming stopped as the other members turned to look at him in surprise.

Ayaka, who now wore a different uniform, smirked at him challengingly.

"You're late, leader."

* * *

*** The way Miho said 'yes' here, in Japanese, is 'osu', which is commonly used by athletes.**

**Yo I'm so not used to writing Chiba with his first name lol. Ryuunosuke's such a long name the docs on my fanfiction app lags every time I type it**

**So here's some i don't know what kind oneshot you call this I wrote while procrastinating with TARGET ON lol**

**Other than Chiba and mentioning two of the Group 2 boys, everyone in here are all my OCs.**

**This is also the first time I've ever wrote a oneshot so spare me lol**

**Hope you enjoy reading this mess :D**

**-松原文子**


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